Another prompt! So excited to continue writing for Jurassic World and I hope you guys are enjoying them as much as I enjoy working on them. This one is also from a Tumblr user on the Jurassic World Prompt page and it's something I was already toying around with before I saw the prompt. BONUS! This is a multichapter! It won't be too long but I wanted to break this up over multiple chapters anyway! I really do think that after Isla Nublar, Zach and Gray would cling more to Claire and Owen than their own parents, especially given the inevitable divorce. And I firmly believe that it would eventually approach the point (if it hasn't already) where the boys would start to see Claire and Owen as sort of surrogate parents. So in any event, here's the newest piece!

Prompt: Owen and Claire can see how badly the divorce is affecting the boys. Zach's lashing out, Gray's very quiet and withdrawn, and Karen and Scott are too busy to notice. It doesn't help that the boys are still recovering from Jurassic World. So Claire and Owen decide to take the boys out for a weekend of nothing but fun and family to cheer them up.

Karen sighed wearily as she stepped through the door of the family house that would soon only be home to three people. And even then, every other weekend she would be alone. Alone in the two-story, four bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath house that she had always dreamed of owning. Boxes were strewn across every room, labeled SCOTT in thick black permanent marker, his entire life wrapped tightly in bubble wrap and stuffed inside. Dust hung in the air, illuminated by the February sun filtering in through the windows, deceptively bright for how frigid it was outside. It felt empty. Shelves that used to be crowded with the trophies and football memorabilia she despised looked worse unadorned. The desk in the family room was cleared, outlines in the dust the only evidence that there had ever been office supplies there, books, a computer. The kitchen cabinets hung open, mugs and plates and shot glasses wrapped in newspaper and sitting on the countertops waiting to be packaged up and taken to the townhouse Scott had secured twenty minutes from the house she would be keeping.

Gray sat on a barstool at the kitchen island, legs swinging absent-mindedly as he read from his science textbook, having carved out a space in all the to-be-packed items to set it down. His head was down, mind clearly someplace else. She couldn't help but wonder if he was thinking about Isla Nublar. About Jurassic World. She knew he still had nightmares, still screamed at night and kicked and thrashed and cried. But he wouldn't accept help from her or from his father. Only Zach was allowed to cross the threshold into his room, the dinosaur merchandise cleared out at her behest. Only Zach was allowed to sit at the end of his bed, stroke his hair, whisper reassurances until he drifted off again. Only Zach was allowed to comfort him, to hug him, to soothe him. Only Zach was allowed to trespass into that space, that role. Only Zach shared that with him. And try as hard as she might, Karen Mitchell would never be able to have that with her baby boy. Scott didn't even try after the first night or two.

Gray caught his mother staring at him, gave a wan half-smile and flipped the page in his textbook, returned to staring down at it, chewing on his lower lip in thought. It was times like this she wished he still trusted her enough to tell her things. Her therapist had warned her that the boys might be a little cold around her for a while after the divorce proceedings ended but no amount of verbal preparation could have readied her for the rift that had opened between her and her sons.

Gray was distant but he wasn't totally unwilling to reciprocate her affection when she offered it. Zach on the other hand was much colder toward her, brushed her off when she tried to give him a hug, a word of encouragement. And when he wasn't ignoring her and his father, he was openly hostile toward them. He blamed them. For the divorce, for the horrors they saw at Jurassic World, for the trauma and the PTSD and the nightmares that he and Gray both suffered from. And on some level, she supposed that it was only fair. But she still longed for the days when her sons would at least tell her what happened that day, what was going on in their minds.

The car door shutting in the driveway told her that Zach was home. The slate colored Nissan Versa had been another feeble attempt to smooth over the rift that had developed in their relationship as parents and son, purchased immediately after he passed his driver's test as a late Christmas present. Just like the new phone. And the TV. And even though she knew full well that she couldn't buy her son's love, that it was unethical of her to even try, she didn't know what else to do. She was just tired of being shut out of his life.

What had happened to her oldest son? What had happened to the boy who loved music and basketball and who, despite his brooding exterior, could be so sweet and so gentle? When had his eyes gotten so haunted-looking? When had the bags under them gotten so dark? And when could she have him back the way he was?

"Hey, honey," she greeted with forced warmth as he came through the door, backpack slung over one shoulder and an agitated expression on his face.

Zach dropped the backpack on the floor with a thump. "Hi," he greeted coldly. Gray turned to look at him and the tenseness in the older brother's expression seemed to melt away. His clenched fists relaxed, his shoulders dropped a little, his furrowed brow returned to its neutral position and Karen felt a mix of stinging rejection and total relief. If neither brother was willing to turn to their parents, at least they had each other. And that was what she kept telling herself every time she wanted to cry.

Gray slid off the barstool, book tucked under one arm and made for the stairs. Zach picked up his backpack and followed without another word to his mother.

The phone rang shortly after Scott got back from the storage unit he had been putting all his boxes in until he could officially move into his new house. He answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Scott," the woman on the other end greeted in a clipped voice, like she was trying to be polite.

"Claire," the man recognized the speaker.

"Is Karen there?" His soon-to-be ex-sister-in-law asked, tone still short and abrupt, utterly disinterested in exchanging small talk with him.

"One second," he passed the phone to Karen. "Your sister," he explained and then returned to packing his belongings.

"Hello," the woman greeted, a sense of relief washing over her even before she heard Claire's voice.

"Hey, Karen," Claire returned cordially. "How is…well, you know."

The older sister looked about the room, surveyed the half-packed state of the house. "It's coming along. There's still things to pack but it's coming along. How are you and…"

"Good," Claire answered a little awkwardly, sounding rushed. "We're both good. We've been getting the house in order. You know, renovations and all. Hey, listen. I know you've got a lot going on at the house and with all the court stuff getting finalized… We just thought it might be a good idea to get Zach and Gray out of the house during all that. So we were wondering if you'd maybe like us to come pick them up for the weekend?"

Claire held her breath nervously, dreading the answer her sister might give. They had seen each other post Isla Nublar, seen the boys. Both she and Owen had been by the house. And her nephews had a habit of texting or calling her whenever things were getting heavy at home. She didn't always know what to say but they somehow found comfort in telling her. In venting to her. But not since Jurassic World had her sister placed the boys in her care for any period of time. And as badly as she wanted to see them, to spend time with them, she wouldn't have blamed her sister for saying no. They'd almost been killed last time after all. Karen's silence stretched on a little too long.

"Owen and I just finished painting the upstairs," she added quickly. "There's plenty of space for them to come stay." She began running through the checklist she had rehearsed to make the place and the idea seem as appealing as possible. Like a sales pitch. "They can each have their own rooms. And the woods are nice and quiet this time of year. There's tons of snow on the ground. They can go skiing. There's a place not too far from here. And the pond is totally frozen over so they can go ice skating. There's lots to do…" She trailed off, hoping she had sold her sister on the idea.

"You know, that does sound nice," Karen finally said. "I bet the boys would love it. I'll ask them."

Claire let out a sigh of relief and her sister could almost picture the grin on her face.

"I'll call you back after I talk to them, Claire."

Karen turned to her husband, whose back was turned to her. "Claire and Owen are going to take the boys for the weekend," she said.

"You're kidding, right?" the man turned to face her, disbelief etched in his features.

Karen frowned. "No. I'm not kidding. I think it would be a good idea to get them out of the house. A change of pace might be good for them."

"Karen, you know what happened last time you put Claire in charge of them. Let's face it. The woman can't look after kids."

"Those were extenuating circumstances, Scott. There aren't any dinosaurs in Wisconsin and please don't do this here. Not now. Claire is perfectly capable of taking care of Zach and Gray and you know it. Claire and Owen are a big part of why they're even still alive."

"All I'm saying is if it isn't dinosaurs then it could be bears. Or wolves. Or god only knows what else!" Scott shot back.

"You know what? Let's just ask them what they'd like to do. I'm not having this argument with you, Scott and I'm not going to let you talk about my sister that way. Boys!" the mother called.

"I really don't approve of this, Karen," Scott grumbled, dropping a wrapped souvenir plate into the box.

The blonde woman shook her head in exasperation.

"What?" Zach asked moodily as he leaned slack against the wall, fixing his eyes resentfully on his parents. He heard the shouting even from his room with the door shut and was fully prepared to go off on them if they expected him to referee another one of their fights. It amazed him that even two days away from their divorce finalization, they still couldn't pretend to be civil. Gray stood beside him, wide-eyed.

Karen forced a smile as she regarded her two sons. "How would you boys like to go spend the weekend with Aunt Claire and Owen?" she asked, her voice filled with insincere excitement that made it sound like she was speaking to a first grader.

Gray didn't have to force a smile. "Yes!" he agreed whole-heartedly, his enthusiasm forcing his older brother to crack a smile too.

He just as quickly hid it as he looked from his expectant mother to his unamused father, felt his blood starting to boil again as he regarded the man, wanted to punch that disinterested, slack-jawed look straight off his face. "Yeah. Yeah that sounds like a good idea," he ground out, locking eyes defiantly with his dad.

"Perfect. It's settled then," Karen spoke the last three words deliberately to Scott. I'll call Claire back right now to tell her the good news. You boys should go pack. Remember your toothbrushes."

"Okay, Mom," Gray led the way back up the stairs, Zach hot on his heels.

"They don't want us in the house on the day they sign the papers," Gray declared glumly in his room as he pulled pants and sweatshirts and underwear and socks from his dresser drawers, piled the sets of clothes on his bed where Zach was sitting, staring at the fibers of the blue rug on the floor, socked feet dangling over the side of the mattress. "They want us to think it's for fun but really they're just worried we can't handle it."

"I know," Zach answered in a similar monotone, still fixating on the carpet fibers. He lifted his gaze suddenly and focused his attention on his little brother. "But you know what? Screw them. They don't want us around? Fine. We can still have fun, right? Aunt Claire and Owen's house will be fun. More fun than sitting around here."

Gray brightened. "Yeah! And Aunt Claire said there's lots of stuff to do!" Zach returned his brother's cheerful grin, his energy renewed as he became determined to ensure this weekend would be the best ever. To help Gray take his mind off the divorce, to help him clear his own head, and mostly to spite his parents for thinking they could just ship them off whenever times got tough. Though he couldn't deny that he would rather be with his aunt and with Owen. Permanently.

Karen had never really paid attention to her sister's appearance, the way she presented herself. But as she watched from the window, she couldn't help but feel pangs of envy for Claire's life, for how much better it seemed. Things seemed to work out for her little sister in ways they never did for her. The silver Mercedes E-Class sedan was exactly the kind of car she would drive—sleek, elegant, but not flashy, exuding success without having to rub it in. The pale pink sweater and skinny black jeans and heeled boots suited her nicely, made her look well-dressed while maintaining a casual, almost effortless air. Her hair had grown out a bit since the incident at Isla Nublar, no longer styled in a jagged bob but instead falling around her high cheekbones in short waves, framing her face flatteringly. And Owen made a similarly good impression the few times she had met him, soft-spoken and gentlemanly but rugged and handsome, clad today in a blue button-down and crisp jeans and looking every bit as successful and content as his better half. And the way he looked at Claire, the way she smirked back at him made Karen feel equal parts jealousy and elation that her sister finally found someone who could appreciate her. Because even though it had only been two months, Owen and Claire were arguably much happier in their relationship than she had ever been in her own marriage.

She greeted the couple at the door. Claire hugged her quickly, offered her a wide smile of encouragement. Owen shook her hand, kissed her cheek politely, murmured how nice it was to see her again.

"Scott," Claire greeted coolly. The heels of her boots clicked against the hardwood floors as she strode briskly past him without stopping, entering the living room, surveying the sealed boxes stacked in the corner with more than just a small amount of satisfaction that he would be gone soon.

"Claire."

Owen gave the man a curt nod but didn't say a word to him, following the red-head into the living room.

"The boys are still upstairs," Karen said, shuffling past them and peering up the staircase. "Boys!" she called. "They're here! Hope your bags are packed!"

Gray tumbled down the stairs, suitcase thumping down every step behind him and practically flew into his aunt's arms, succeeding in knocking the woman back a few feet from the momentum.

"Hey, sweetie!" she greeted him, hugging him back just as tightly and letting herself savor the moment, a genuine smile and then a laugh bubbling to the surface, relaxing her features, erasing some of the hard-set lines that had recently formed on her face from too many long nights staring at a computer screen or court documents or a video chat of Masrani Global executives giving her instructions on what to say, how to say it. Gray embraced her a long moment before finally relaxing his grip to tackle Owen, who scooped the boy up in a massive bear hug.

Zach trailed down the stairs shortly after, duffle bag thrown over one shoulder. He was unable to keep the broad grin from his face as he spotted his aunt. She opened her arms wide for a hug before he had even reached the landing and he dropped all pretense, surging forward to accept the embrace she offered, leaning over and resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Hey, Aunt Claire," he greeted her.

"God is it me or did you get even taller?" she teased.

"It's you. Your heels aren't as high this time," Owen taunted, resting one hand on Claire's shoulder and clapping Zach on the back with the other, Gray still clinging to his side. The younger Mitchell hazarded a glance to his parents. His mother was blinking excessively to fight back tears and he couldn't tell if it was out of delight in seeing them so genuinely happy or in pain that she wasn't a part of the group hug unfolding before her. His dad looked peeved and Gray was nervous Zach would turn around and notice, knowing full well that the observation would be enough to ruin his big brother's good mood by sending him into a fit of rage. But Zach didn't even give their dad satisfaction of a good bye, bypassing him altogether to exchange an awkward, one-armed hug with his mom.

"Be careful," she admonished. He nodded, forced a half-smile and didn't even glance at their dad before joining Claire and Owen at the door.

Gray, feeling bad, forced himself to give his dad a hug once he had said goodbye to their mother, wrapping both arms around his father's side. "Bye, Dad," he tried to sound cheerful.

Scott ruffled his son's hair and for a moment a genuine smile broke through. "Have fun, champ," he said and Gray thought he could detect something sad in his voice.

"We'll have them home Sunday evening," Claire promised her sister. "And not too late either since it's a school night," she added, trying to sound as responsible as possible.

"Have fun," Karen smiled wistfully at the four as she waved them out the door. "Call if you need anything," she called after them. "And make sure the boys wear scarves and hats if they go outside!"

The storm door shut behind the four with a definitive snap and Zach was immediately in a much better mood. A thin layer of February snow had fallen on the sidewalk and it crunched beneath their feet as they approached the car. Claire pushed the key fob to pop the trunk open.

"You can throw your bags in there," she instructed. The boys complied, Zach chucking the duffel into one corner and Gray hoisting his hard-sided suitcase over the lip of the trunk, rotating it so that it fit snugly in the other corner.

The car still smelled new. Like fresh-stitched leather. The glovebox still had its Warning! Advanced Air Bags! Tag hanging from it. It was like everything else in Claire and Owen's post-Isla Nublar life. Shiny. New. In some ways totally unfamiliar. Claire clambered into the driver's seat, clicked her seatbelt into place and pushed the round start button on the car's dashboard. The Mercedes purred to life, the gauges glowing and bouncing whimsically as they calibrated themselves and the GPS screen booting up to display a map view of their current location. Owen sat beside her and turned in his seat to face the boys in the back.

"Buckle up, boys," he grinned.

Zach and Gray had never been to Aunt Claire and Owen's new house, but they had heard a lot of things from their mom and from phone conversations. It was a thirty minute drive from their house—their mom's house—and set deep in a wooded area of Dane County just outside Madison.

"You can't even see the closest neighbor's house with all the trees," Owen declared proudly. "Not a soul to bother you."

The car's Bluetooth system chirped shrilly, a noise somewhere between an alarm clock and a ringing telephone. The name NEELA MALAKAR appeared on the screen where the GPS had previously been displaying their route. Claire sighed in exasperation. Owen frowned. Zach and Gray exchanged worried glances.

Claire tapped the button on the steering wheel to answer the call. "Neela, this is a really bad time," she half-shouted in the general direction of the speakerphone mic.

"I just need five minutes of your time," a crisp, female voice responded. Her accent was faint, vaguely British but not quite.

"I'm driving!" the red-head almost whined. "You're on speaker. Owen's in the car. So are my nephews."

"Two minutes then," Neela persisted. "I won't discuss anything confidential."

Claire rolled her eyes. "Go."

"I'm sorry to ruin your plans, Claire, but as GC of Masrani Global it's my job to coordinate all of the pending actions against us. Two multi-district litigations just opened in California and Texas and if my contacts are correct, there will be cases opening in Delaware, North Carolina, New York, and Arizona by the end of next week."

The operations manager could sense this wasn't going to go well but she asked anyway. "What do you need from me?"

"As it happens, I'm holding subpoenas for every document you've produced or been custodian of since you became Operations Manager at Jurassic World. Including any records you might have in your possession since your title changed to Executive Director of Corporate Operations."

"I'll ask someone to send those to you," the woman sighed.

"I'm also holding subpoenas for you and Owen to have your depositions taken…" the attorney continued.

Claire put a hand to her temple, worked her thumb and forefinger in a circular pattern there. Owen turned to look at her, worry etched into his features.

"What's a deposition?" Gray whispered.

"Shhh!" Zach nudged him, leaning forward in his seat as if being a few inches closer to the speaker might aid his comprehension.

"I'm not gonna have to travel am I?" their aunt asked wearily.

"No, no. If those bastards want your testimony they can come to you."

"Fine. Whatever. Just—"

"Wait. Claire. It gets worse…"

The woman rolled her eyes. "Neela, I'm neck-deep in legal crap and between the court cases and the constant requests for comment from the press I've turned into a hero or a public punching bag depending on which way the wind's blowing. How could this get any worse?"

Masrani's legal counsel fell silent for a moment, then said quietly, "I'm also holding subpoenas for your nephews. Zachary and Gray."

"What?" Claire shrieked, inadvertently hitting the brakes so that Zach fell forward with a barely-stifled oof, his seatbelt locking.

"Whoa, easy," Owen soothed, hand subconsciously falling to Claire's shoulder as she guided the car to the shoulder.

"No, no, no they can't. They're kids, Neela! They've been through enough. There's no way—"

"Before you work yourself up," Neela soothed, "I've already filed a motion to quash the subpoena on the grounds that making the boys relive the experience would be detrimental to their mental wellbeing. But that's really pushing the bounds of undue burden. I'll do my best but you might want to prepare them. Just in case."

Gray gasped. He didn't fully understand the legal terminology that had just been recited over the speakerphone but from his aunt's reaction and Zach's alarmed look and Owen's tense grimace he knew it couldn't be good.

"Thanks," Claire finally bit out. "It's been six minutes."

"We'll talk on Monday. Enjoy your weekend." There was a chime indicating the attorney had hung up.

"Not likely," the red-head spat, putting the car back in gear.

"They want us to testify?" Zach questioned with disbelief as the car lurched forward and his aunt merged back onto the highway.

"It'll be fine," Claire tried to reassure her nephews. "Neela's the in-house counsel for Masrani Global. She's great. She'll find a way to get you out of this. Anyway, we're supposed to be having fun! So let's forget about depositions and all that legal stuff." There was a brief moment of uncomfortable silence until Owen mercifully hit the radio and an upbeat pop song filled the car. Claire watched in the rearview mirror as the tension slowly fell from Zach and Gray's faces and breathed a sigh of relief, shooting a grateful glance to Owen.

"Twenty minutes to home, boys," Owen called over his shoulder to the two boys who were, as far as he was concerned, his nephews. The man's eyes fell to the speedometer. "Maybe fifteen with the way you're aunt's driving. You feeling okay, Speedy Gonzalez?" he teased gently, though the smile on his face was a little too forced and his eyebrows a little too arched.

"Sorry," Claire breathed, easing off the accelerator. "Just a little tense. That's all. Twenty minutes."

Zach and Gray grinned at each other. Twenty minutes to home.

A/N: Hope you liked the first part! I'll post the next chapter soon. This is going to be a very short (like three chapters tops) multichapter fic just because I think the storyline is better broken up that way. Please let me know what you thought of chapter one and, if you're eager to read the rest, click follow so you can be updated when I post the next one!